US Supreme Court keeps pause on Florida's ban on drag shows in front of kids

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to revive a Florida law signed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis banning the performance of "lewd" drag shows in the presence of children.

The justices denied a request by Florida officials to narrow a judge's pause on the law to just a single plaintiff - an Orlando restaurant called Hamburger Mary's - rather than maintain his temporary statewide halt of the measure. Orlando-based U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell blocked the measure in June, deciding that it likely violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment promise of free speech because its sweeping prohibitions were poorly defined and risked outlawing constitutionally protected expression.